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Somali leaders agree federal charter
Somaliaâs factional leaders have agreed on a transitional charter which seeks to pave the way to a federal government, according to mediators. The 23 leaders attending the negotiations in Nairobi on Sunday agreed the federal system would include district, regional and state administrations to reflect the level of local administrations already in place. Kenyan diplomat Bethuel Kiplagat, the talksâ chief mediator, said agreement on the transitional charter was a âvery, very important stageâ. Kiplagat added 360 Somali delegates will discuss the charter on Monday. If the proposals are adopted, the talks will move into their final stage which will focus on power sharing. This will include the election of a president and the appointment of 351 members of parliament, based on Somaliaâs complex clan system. Talks broke up three weeks ago when representatives disagreed over the type of federal system for the country. At least two northern regions, Puntland and Somaliland, have had their own administrations for several years. Somaliland has even been seeking international recognition as a separate country and has not taken part in talks. A further concern is that many important and influential figures have failed to turn up. Among those absent from the talks was Abd al-Qasim Hasan, president of Somalia's Transitional National Government.
Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2003-09-15 |
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